Cat food and snacks help drive grocery price inflation in Britain to 17-month high  

Grocery price inflation was 3.2% in the four weeks to November 28, its highest since June 2020, research shows

Kantar publishes Ireland's November supermarket figures next week, which will be closely watched because of the jump in energy costs that is helping to fuel the costs of manufacturing many grocery and food items.

Grocery price inflation in Britain hit a 17-month high in November, with the prices of crisps, savoury snacks and cat food increasing the most, market researcher Kantar said. 

It said grocery price inflation was 3.2% in the four weeks to November 28, its highest since June 2020.

But it noted consumer behaviour hadn’t caught up with price rises yet.

"Habits we’d expect to see shift, like swapping branded products for own-label or seeking out promotions, haven’t altered just yet," said Fraser McKevitt, Kantar's head of retail and consumer insight.

He said concerns over the next stage of the pandemic, with the emergence of the Omicron variant, may see consumers change the way they shop in the next few weeks. Some may prefer to shop online again to limit their visits to stores.

Kantar said the average price of a traditional turkey Christmas dinner for four in Britain was £27.48 (€32.33), or 3.4% higher than 2020.

Bank of England deputy governor Ben Broadbent earlier this week said  overall inflation in Britain might "comfortably exceed" 5% in April.

Kantar said UK grocery sales fell 3.8% year-on-year in the 12 weeks to November 28. 

In the same period last year, sales were boosted by a second Covid-19 lockdown in England and tighter restrictions in Scotland and Wales.

Market leader in Britain, Tesco was again the best performer of the major players.

Tesco in Britain won 0.7 percentage points of market share in the period, its biggest jump since 2007, taking it to its highest share since February 2019.

Kantar publishes Ireland's November supermarket figures next week, which will be closely watched because of the jump in energy costs that is helping to fuel the costs of manufacturing many grocery and food items.

Kantar's previous report showed Irish grocery market inflation was running at 0.6% for the 12-week period to early October – the highest level of inflation since March 2021.                

Separately on Tuesday, surveys for the whole UK retail sector showed consumer spending picked up in November, boosted by earlier-than-usual Christmas shopping and a recovery in spending in pubs and restaurants before news of the Omicron variant. 

Meanwhile, UK house prices hit a record in November, with values over the past three months rising at their fastest pace for 15 years, according to mortgage lender Halifax.

The average price of a home stood at £272,992 (€321,303) after gaining 3.4% in the quarter through November, the fastest pace since late 2006, the mortgage lender said in a report. 

Prices rose 1% in November alone – a fifth monthly increase – and were up 8.2% from a year earlier. The average property has gained more than 20,000 pounds over the past year.

• Reuters, Irish Examiner, and Bloomberg